new pathways for licensed and authorised ministry
TRANSCRIPT
New Pathways for Licensed and Authorised
Ministry
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Introduction
As part of the Transforming Church strategy, the Bishop of Birmingham
intends to create new pathways for licensed and authorised ministry in
the Church of England Birmingham. These new pathways take forward our
missionary commitment to ‘proclaim afresh the faith in each generation’
reimagining ministry in ways which foster, sustain and extend Christian
presence, service, witness and outreach in every community, as envisaged
by the People & Places programme.
An integral part of this transformation is the role of Local Ministers who
will lead a church or worshipping congregation within an oversight area,
supported and led by an Oversight Minister and Area Dean.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me, and I in them, bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15: 4-5
proclaim
g e n e r a t i o nin each
afreshthe Faith
“As sponsoring bishop, I am delighted to see this new initiative in local ministry come to fruition as part of the wider work we have been doing in re-imagining ministry. I look forward to working with it.”
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Diocese
Bishops• Diocesan Bishop and Suffragan Bishop
• Ministries, Mission, Learning and Parish Support services
2 Archdeaconries• Archdeacon of Birmingham
• Archdeacon of Aston
6 Deaneries• Area Dean
• Context Ministers
• Deanery Support Services
Oversight Ministry• Oversight Minister• Each Oversight Minister will be leading a particular church within
an Oversight area
Local Ministry• Local Minister • Ministry Team comprising ordained and authorised lay ministers
licensed/locally commissioned• Church Schools• Mission Communities, Church Plants, Fresh Expressions and
Revitalisations • Community Outreach
e.g. Foodbanks, Community Centres, Places of Welcome • Distinctive Ministry
e.g. CFM’s, Pioneer Mission, Youth and Childrens, Chaplaincy
As part of the People & Places, in each of the six Deaneries there will be a
number of churches led by Local Ministers, gathered into oversight areas.
The Ecology of Mission and Ministry in The Church of England Birmingham
Bishops
Arc
hdea
con A
rchdeacon
Local Ministry
Deaneries
Diocese
Oversight Ministry
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Architecture and relationships of Oversight areas
Chu
rch Revitalisatio
n
Mis
sio
n an
d Ministry team
Local Minister
Oversight Minister
Area Dean
Context Ministers
Archdeacon
Bishops
Fresh Expressions
Area Dean
Area Dean
Area Dean
Area Dean
Area Dean
Archdeacon
Stay and Play
Local Minister
FoodbankSchool
Mis
sio
n an
d Ministry team
Local Minister
Fresh Expressions
Church PlantC
om
munity Centre
Oversight Minister
Oversight Minister
Mis
sio
n an
d Ministry team
Mis
sio
n an
d Ministry team
Deanery Support Services
Oversight areas are made up of a range of expressions
of church and service in the community. In each deanery,
supported by the Area Dean, Oversight Ministers
sustain a number of local churches in worship and
witness in their particular context. These local churches
are led by a Local Minister who brings focal leadership to
ministry and mission in that neighbourhood.
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The new ministry pathways are:
Local MinisterEquipped to lead a particular church or local Christian community, licensed
by the Bishop, supervised by and accountable to the Oversight Minister.
The Local Minister may be either a Licensed Lay Minister/
Reader-in-Charge or an Ordained Minister whose ministry as Deacon and
Priest is focussed primarily in a local Christian Community.
In some local churches there may be two Local Ministers who share
leadership responsibilities.
These new licensed and authorised ministry responsibilities will complement the well-established diocesan ministry of Commissioned Pastoral Care and Community Skills Teams.
Local Ministers work collaboratively within an ecology of mission
comprising a number of inter-related ministries and mission, including
licensed ministries which are nationally recognised and deployable,
particularly:
• Reader Ministry
• Ordained Ministry of Deacon, Presbyter/Priest designated for
Primary Responsibility/Assistant Ministry
• Lay Worker (Canon E7)
Authorised Worship LeaderLay people equipped to lead public worship in a particular church and
parish/community setting, under the supervision of the Local Minister or
Oversight Minister.
Public Worship and Prayer Ministry
Authorised Occasional PreacherLay people equipped to teach the faith in a particular church and parish/
community setting on an occasional basis, under the supervision of the
Local Minister or Oversight Minister.
Ministry of the Word
Further authorised lay ministries will be developed in due course:
Facilities, Governance and Finance
Mission and Evangelism
Church Administrator Local Evangelist
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LocalMinister(s)
Ministry ofSacraments
Ministry ofthe Word
Mission and Evangelism
Public Worshipand Prayer
Pastoral Care and
Safeguarding
Facilities, Governanceand Finance
DiscipleshipFormation
Facilities, Governance and FinanceLeading the practicalities of church life through planning, administration and stewardship.
Mission and Evangelism Leading outreach, witness and service through engagement with the local community and wider world.
Discipleship FormationHelping people grow through leading Way of Discipleship, Alpha, Godly Play, Junior Church, Jesus Shaped People, preparation for Confirmation.
Ministry of the WordTeaching the faith through preaching, bible study and learning.
Public Worship and PrayerLeading, planning and delivering services, prayer, music and other forms of worship.
Pastoral Care and SafeguardingFostering love for one another in the church and local community though different forms of care and safeguarding.
Ministry of SacramentsCelebrating Baptism, Holy Communion and other sacraments, led by Bishops and Priests, assisted by Deacons.
The Local Minister represents their local church in the oversight area and
deanery, fostering vision and strategy and bringing focus to the life of the
local church through a range of ministries, which can be grouped into these
seven areas.
Leading Ministry and Mission in Local Churches
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Calling and Discernment for Local Ministry
Priority for local ministry discernment will be those local churches and
Oversight Ministry Areas emerging through the People & Places process.
Discernment will be a process of several linked phases, beginning with
the communal discernment of the local call to ministry, moving into the
discernment of individuals who have the necessary gifts and skills for leadership
as authorised ministers, both lay and ordained. This approach envisages ministry
in the service of mission.
This pattern of communal discernment works in
partnership with, the Transforming Church Action
Planning process (TCAP).
The approach to selection and development of local
leaders involves initial discernment, formation,
training and continuing ministerial development
which is intercultural and inclusive of the wide
diversity of educational and cultural backgrounds
in CofE Birmingham, shaped for particular local
contexts.
Five Phases of Local Ministry Discernment and Formation
Discerning the vocation and calling of women and men for these new ministry
responsibilities takes place through five Local Ministry development phases,
building on an initial Foundation such as:
• Estates Ministry Leadership Learning Pathway
• The Way of Discipleship
In a specially designed Giftings Day, each local Christian community/
PCC will reflect on the seven dimensions of their shared life as a
church and consider the role of the Local Minister who focuses and
connects together these various ministries.
This reflection is led by a trained ministry discernment facilitator,
with the Area Dean/Oversight Minister, who helps the community
to identify the people who lead in each of these areas, what openings
there are for leadership (‘the gaps’), and which members of the
community might have the gifts, skills and callings to take on new
leadership responsibilities. After a period of reflection, the Area
Dean/Oversight Minister nominates individuals to explore training in
various areas supported by the PCC.
Further information on this process is available in the Community Discernment Workbook.
Phase 1: Community Discernment
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Phase 2: Personal Discernment
Individuals who are drawn to serve as a Local Minister, either lay
or ordained, will have further conversations with the Oversight
Minister and a Diocesan Vocations Adviser.
Formation Criteria for the role of Local Minister will be drawn from
the national Church of England Shared Discernment Framework.
Those who feel drawn to Local Ministry will draw up with the
Oversight Minister/Area Dean a draft role description describing
the particular shape of the ministry envisaged for that particular
community.
The role description(s) will be presented to the PCC for discussion
and approval.
Phase 3: Diocesan Discernment and Bishop’s Sponsorship Candidates for Local Ministry
Candidates for local ministry, lay or ordained, will engage in a
discernment process for public representative ministry, including
a Local Discernment Panel, using national CofE formation criteria.
This process will be overseen by the Diocesan Director of Ordinands
working with the Local Ministry Steering Group, who advise
the Sponsoring Bishop on appropriate formation Pathways for
candidates. Responsibility for final decisions in all matters of public
ministry rest with the Bishop.
Phase 4: Formation, Training and Assessment
The Learning pathway for Local Ministry will focus on theology,
spirituality and practice of leadership, collaboration, accountability
and resilience and will be context specific, building on prior
experience and training.
Some aspects of formation will be shared with other formation
programmes for licensed and commissioned ministries such
as Reader, Commissioned Pastoral Teams, Curates, including
Safeguarding Training and Unconscious Bias training.
Local Ministers recommended for ordained ministry will be ordained
by the Bishop along side others in the annual Cathedral services.
Phase 5: Continuing Ministerial Development(CMD), Oversight, Supervision and Ministerial Development Review (MDR)
There will be appropriate arrangements for continuing training, and
ongoing accountability, supervision and oversight in ministry, with
Ministerial Review at regular intervals.
Each ministry will also be supported by a Working and Learning
Agreement arranged in conversation with the Oversight Minister,
renewed annually.
Licensing and authorisation for the role of Local Minister
will be for a period of five years, with mutual review led by
the Area Dean in Year 5. Recommissioning follows if
mutually agreed.
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Local Ministry Pilot Programme 2019-2022
There will be a pilot programme for the Local Ministry
pathway, which is comprised of leaders currently
participating in the Leadership Pathway for Urban/Estates
Ministry, led by Canon Andy Delmege and Dr Sam Gibson.
Participants are established leaders in a particular local
church (churchwardens, Readers, Mission Apprentices),
collaborating with an Oversight Minister.
The pilot programme is funded for three years by the All-Churches Trust, and
is formally evaluated by the Church Army who will produce an analysis of the
overall programme in 2022. It is envisaged that a second cohort will begin for
individuals from particular churches where P&P is opening up opportunities for
new patterns of ministry.
Timescale envisaged for the pilot programme:
Foundation learning community 2019-2020
Community Discernment and personal discernment Autumn 2020
Diocesan Panel Autumn 2020
Initial Formation Phase 1 2020-2021
Licensing of lay Local Ministers July 2021
and ordained Local Ministers made deacon
Initial Formation Phase 2 2021-2022
Local Ministers who are ordained, made priest July 2022
Continuing Ministerial Development 2022 onwards
Local Ministry Steering Group
The Reverend Canon Andy Delmege
The Reverend Guy Donogan-Cross
The Reverend Dr Sam Gibson
The Reverend Paul Hinton
Christine McAteer
The Reverend Calvert Prentis
The Reverend Canon Dr Mark Pryce
The Reverend Ann Richardson
Jenny Thurston
For further information contact:
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Equipping Complementary Ministries
People & Places programmes are in place to support and develop ministry
and mission in a range of ways. Coaching and mentoring will enable clergy
and lay leaders to grow in skills and aptitudes in new responsibilities,
including training and support for Oversight Ministers.
For further information please see key supporting documents:
• Practical Theology of Oversight Ministry
• Bishop David’s Invitation to Explore
• TCAP ‘explanation’
• Transforming ministry
God our Father, Lord of all the world,
through your Son you have called us into the fellowship
of your universal Church:
hear our prayer for your faithful people
that in their vocation and ministry
each may be an instrument of your love,
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Church of England - Birmingham
1 Colmore Row
Birmingham, B3 2BJ
0121 426 0400
www.cofebirmingham.com